Post-mortem: 'Student tortured for 3 days before death in Sharjah'

Kuwaiti Mubarak Meshaal Al Mubarak died at a hospital in Sharjah last week after being beaten by two compatriots.

SHARJAH // A teenage student from Kuwait who died after a violent assault was tortured for three days before his death, a postmortem examination has found.

Mubarak Meshaal Al Mubarak, 19, a first-year student at the University of Sharjah, died in hospital last Monday after sustaining fractures and an internal haemorrhage.

Two of the dead teenager’s friends, fellow students aged 18 and 19, one of them a member of the Kuwaiti royal family, have been arrested and are being questioned over his death. Prosecutors say they have admitted holding him against his will and assaulting him.

“The two accused … have admitted that they held the victim captive and tortured him for three days, which takes all complication out of the case, given that they are not denying the torture they inflicted on the victim,” said the Sharjah prosecutor, Rashed Al Omrani.

A copy of the forensic report was forwarded to the Kuwaiti consulate in Dubai, and based on its findings the victim’s body was released for burial in Kuwait at the weekend.

The report mentions “burn marks and signs of torture” but no traces of toxic substances or drugs in the victim’s blood, Mr Al Omrani told Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language sister newspaper of The National.

“The prosecution is still interrogating the two accused … to determine the real causes that led them to do what they did, and find out whether they had any accomplices,” he said. Statements are also being taken from witnesses and those close to the victim and the accused, including fellow students.

“The prosecution is also in the process of analysing footage found on mobile phones belonging to the accused and deemed pertinent to the case. Other evidence is being collected from previous phone conversations as well,” Mr Al Omrani said.

Prosecutors have not yet established a motive for the attack, or why the victim did not report it to the police, when he had a chance to do so, he said.

They expect to conclude their investigations by the end of this week and will probably press charges of deprivation of freedom, torture and premeditated murder.